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Working Hours
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will lift the exemptions relating to transport workers to allow them to comply with EC regulations limiting the working week to 48 hours; and if he will make a statement. [21]
Mr. Watts: Article 1(3) of the working time directive states that the directive shall apply to all sectors of activity
- "with the exception of air, rail, road, sea, inland waterway and lake transport, sea fishing, other work at sea and the activities of doctors in training."
The European Commission is considering bringing forward proposals for working time controls in the sectors excluded from the directive. However, the Government are challenging the directive in the European Court of Justice on the ground that it is not a genuine health and safety measure and should not, therefore, have been adopted under article 118A of the treaty, and remain opposed to any extension of its provisions to the excluded sectors.
Traffic Growth
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the latest available figures for the average daily traffic flow and the annual rate of traffic growth for (a) motorways, (b) urban non-motorway trunk roads, (c) rural non-motorway trunk roads, (d) urban principal roads, (e) rural principal roads, (f) urban classified roads, (g) rural classified roads, (h) urban unclassified roads and (i) rural unclassified roads. [241]
Mr. Watts: The estimated average daily motor vehicle flow, measured in thousand vehicles per day, for Great Britain in 1995 is:
- Motorway: 60.9
- Trunk built-up: 19.2
- Trunk non-built-up: 15.5
- Principal built-up: 15.0
- Principal non-built-up: 7.2
- Minor: 1.4.
The estimated annual rate of traffic growth in 1995 for Great Britain by road class is:
The figures provided have been derived from the national traffic census, the results of which are published in the transport statistics report "Road Traffic Statistics Great Britain: 1996 Edition".
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For the purposes of the national traffic census, the terms built-up/non-built-up are used for the urban/rural distinction. Built-up roads are defined as those with a speed limit of 40 mph or less.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the amount spent on (a) lawyers, (b) accountants, (c) consultants and (d) other professionals in consultation relating to privatisation of National Air Traffic Services in the last three months. [12]
Mr. Bowis:
The Department of Transport spent about £4,000, plus VAT, on legal fees in connection with this issue, with no expenditure under the other sub-headings. In addition, the Civil Aviation Authority spent approximately £125,000, plus VAT, on other consultants.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his policy in respect of a two-centre air-traffic control strategy. [59]
Mr. Bowis:
In air traffic control matters, the Government are advised by the Civil Aviation Authority, which is the competent national body. The strategy of concentrating en route air traffic control services on two main centres was drawn up by National Air Traffic Services, now a wholly owned subsidiary of the CAA, early in the 1990s and the Government have supported the policy since then. The CAA is now reviewing the assumptions underlying the two-centre strategy in the light of technological and other developments and we await its recommendations.
Ms Glenda Jackson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will now update the maps of current congestion, and projection of future congestion which were placed in the Library in February and include detailed forecasts of congestion for trunk roads in London, and key links on the motorway network in and around the capital. [1072]
Mr. Watts:
I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Nuneaton (Mr. Olner), Official Report, columns 1100-101.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the amount spent by his Department on (a) accountants, (b) consultants, (c) lawyers and (d) other professionals in relation to the privatisation of the trust ports. [69]
Mr. Bowis:
Spending for the six trust ports already privatised under the Ports Act 1991 and the spending to date on the prospective privatisation of the ports of Tyne and Ipswich, are as follows:
Motorway: 6.3 per cent.
Trunk built-up: 9.5 per cent.
Trunk non-built-up: 2.5 per cent.
Principal built-up: -0.2 per cent.
Principal non-built-up: 1.9 per cent.
Minor: 1.6 per cent.
Source:
National Traffic Census.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| (a) accountants | 1,101,768 |
| (b) consultants | nothing in addition to sums shown for a, c and d |
| (c) lawyers | 8,817 |
| (d) other professionals | 38,295 |
29 Oct 1996 : Column: 102
Electric Power-assisted Bicycles
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he made of the impact of departmental proposals for relaxing the definitions of vehicles to exclude electric power-assisted bicycles on the figures for (a) fatalities and (b) injuries from road accidents; and what account he took of studies conducted by the Transport Research Laboratory (i) on his behalf and (ii) for any other agency or body. [1013]
Mr. Bowis: Road accidents involving electric power-assisted bicycles are currently collected in the road accident data reporting system, but are not separately identifiable from bicycles in general. Accidents involving electric power-assisted bicycles will continue to be collected even if there is a change of vehicle definition. The Department has received the Transport Research Laboratory report which is being considered by a working group of Government Department and manufacturing representatives. After consideration by the working group, any restrictions proposed will be taken into account.
Strategic Rail Network
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport to what extent his Department will be involved in future decisions about the development of the strategic rail network, with special reference to the use of the Tonbridge-Redhill-Clapham route for freight between London and the channel tunnel and the upgrading of the west coast main line to accommodate piggyback traffic. [1049]
Mr. Watts: Once Railfreight Distribution--the channel tunnel freight business--is in the private sector, the privatisation of BR's freight operations will have been completed and it will be for Railtrack, in consultation with the freight train operating companies, to weigh up the opportunities for further investment in the network. The Government will continue to consider applications for freight grants on their merits, including any related to piggyback traffic. Decisions on future investment in the network south of London to accommodate channel tunnel freight trains will be a matter for Railtrack and the new owners of RFD.
M66
Mr. Chris Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is his estimate of the delay in starting work on the final contract for construction of the M66 motorway resulting from the engineering difficulties encountered with building the A62 bridge. [969]
M65-M6 Link
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the M65-M6 link is due to be completed; and what estimate he has made of traffic flows at Colne on completion of the link. [892]
Mr. Watts:
The Blackburn southern bypass is expected to be complete in November 1997. It is expected that traffic on the M65 will rise by just over 10 per cent. when
29 Oct 1996 : Column: 103
the road is complete. It is possible that this increase will extend to the east of Blackburn, but no specific estimates for traffic flows at Colne have been made.
Mr. Spellar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what current proposals from the European Commission purport to change the standards that apply to buses. [200]
Mr. Bowis:
There are no current European Commission proposals affecting the standards that apply to UK buses, but we expect a Commission proposal for a type approval directive shortly.
29 Oct 1996 : Column: 104
Mr. Robert Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list for each eligible local authority in England the bids made for local transport capital expenditure approval under the categories (a) major highway schemes eligible for transport supplementary grant, (b) major highway scheme not TSG eligible, (c) structural maintenance on carriageways, (d) structural maintenance on bridges, (e) major public transport projects, (f) minor works: packages, (g) minor works: non packages, (h) minor works: local safety schemes and (i) total bids. [242]
Mr. Watts:
The bids for 1997-98 are given in the table.
29 Oct 1996 : Column: 103
(6) maj h = Bid for major highway schemes eligible for TSG.
(7) maj n = Bid for major highway schemes not eligible for TSG.
(8) sm rds = Bid for structural maintenance on carriageways.
(9) sm bdg = Bid for assessment, strengthening and other structural maintenance on bridges.
(10) maj t = Bid for major public transport projects.
(11) mw pk = Bid for minor works: packages (highways and public transport).
(12) mw npk = Bid for minor works: non-package (highways and public transport).
(13) mw lss = Bid for minor works: local safety schemes.
(14) total = Total bids.
29 Oct 1996 : Column: 107
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